5. Treat each and every day as your first

(acrylic)

I know people that are my age and are very very sick of life, sick of their routine, their relationships, the places where they live, the schools they go to. People that are gifted and talented and don't appreciate what they have in life. They don't know how lucky they actually are. I know other people that struggle to get what they want. They work at night to get the money to pay for their gas so they can drive 30 miles to school every morning, if it wasn't for financial aid, they couldn't be in college, they were the most responsible people i knew, people that had to work for what they had and appreciated it all.

4. Never underestimate the people that are close to you.

(ink on watercolor paper)

I have a friend who is talented, intelligent, sharp, observant, curious and outgoing. She has all the qualities an artist needs to make it out there. I talk to her almost everyday, when I went through crap she was there to listen and she would vice me some versa every now and then. Anyway, several weeks ago she asked if I wanted to go back to school, she would pick me up at my place and drop me off. We planned everything and her car broke down a couple of minutes from my house. A friend of her mom's brought her over and in the evening my dad took her back home. Her car is fixed now and several days ago she asked me if I wanted to try again.

3. Beauty always comes when it is least expected.

(ink and photoshop)

I woke up this morning and my mother had a turkey in the oven, she was outside trying to plant some ferns but she couldn't because there was a huge chunk of cement in the way. she tried to break it with a steel bar, and then i had a few whacks at it, we couldn't break it so we went inside. I sat on the stool while she made some rice. And at some point, she looked into a water jug she had on the counter, mumbled something, i went over to see what she was talking about and since there was nothing there that i could see, i reached my hand into it and felt something. I held it in my hand and when I pull it out, its this perfectly round, clear water bead. I reach my hand in again and pull a handful of them out. totally clear and invisible when submerged, huge surprise, completely unexpected.

2. Never leave your shit out in the open.

(photoshop)
Another update on the special, and un-special.

Several weeks ago, my parents and I went to eat at a local family restaurant; they specialize in seafood, which is something i tend to avoid getting. The place is small and doesn't accommodate a whole lot of people but their food is great, and the price is very reasonable. The only problem is that they aren't located in the best of neighborhoods. I left a bag with a t-shirt and a pair of shorts inside and also another bag with two diffusers in the back. We went and got food and when we came back, the glass in the car had been broken, the diffusers and the clothes were taken. Not even 40$ worth of stuff. The glass replacement cost more than twice that I'm sure.

1. If you have nothing to smile about, there is something wrong.

Update post (photoshop)
progress on what's important and what is not.

So last night I had a conversation with a friend. He has girl problems and is at the brink of drug and alcohol abuse, he calls me and he keeps saying hes never gonna make it. I tell him to stop doing drugs, he will feel better, he tells me he isn't a quitter. So I say: "are you gonna do drugs for the rest of your life?" he says "yes, yes I am" I'm quiet for a second, and then I say: "are you happy with the life you're leading?" He says "I don't know. not really" then i tell him there's something wrong. it's either the girls or the booze, probably both. He says nothing. He knows the simplicity of his problem and he cannot solve it, he knows how easy it is for him to reach happiness and he will not. I cannot do anything for him.